BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Rupert Murdoch's Twenty-First Century Fox has asked EU antitrust regulators to approve its $14.4 billion takeover bid for European pay-TV company Sky , a filing on the European Commission showed on Friday.

The EU competition enforcer will decide by April 7 whether to clear the deal, demand concessions or kick off a five-month long investigation.

Fox chief executive James Murdoch has said no "meaningful concessions" would be required. The acquisition of the remaining 61 percent of Sky would help Fox better compete with rivals such as Netflix .